I was knocking giant icicles off the roof, Modern Philosophers, and made a decision.

Now that Thanksgiving dinner has been properly digested, and the holiday has been given a proper day to pass out of our systems, I say we might as well get on with the inevitable…

Bring on Christmas!

Don’t get me wrong, I love Christmas.

I just worry that the Christmas Season starts a little earlier every year, and poor Thanksgiving is soon going to disappear completely from the calendar.

I mean, they’re already starting the Black Friday sales on Thanksgiving night. Turkey Day doesn’t even get it’s full twenty-four hours anymore!

We all know Black Friday is organically a part of Christmas, so essentially, the Christmas Season now begins before we’re even done eating our turkey. Hell, we haven’t even taken the pies out of the fridge yet, people!

And does Thanksgiving even get any love? Sure, there’s the Macy’s parade, a lame Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Special, and that Adam Sandler novelty song, but the Pilgrims’ Pride really has no juice in today’s world.

When’s the last time you saw anyone deck the halls for Thanksgiving?

In my neighborhood, the Halloween decorations come down, and the Christmas ones replace them. There are no turkey lights, inflatable Pilgrims, or Mayflowers dashing through the snow.

I’m all for the joy and happiness Christmas brings, but I worry about the holiday getting watered down because it’s now expected to last for over a month.

I still think we need to wait until December to really get the ball rolling on Santa’s big day, but I know I’m in the minority when it comes to that.

If anything, I’d rather see the Christmas Season start later and last longer. Winter in Maine is dark, dreary, depressing, snowy, and cold. However, when the Christmas Spirit fills the air, and those colorful lights illuminate the neighborhood, I forget how long it’s going to be before I feel the sun’s warmth again.

I say let’s open our presents on December 25 as usual, but don’t let the holiday end there. Keep those lights shining, wear those ugly sweaters, sing the carols, and spread the cheer at least until Valentine’s Day rolls around the distract us from the Ongoing Ice Age.

Despite my pleas to give the passing of Thanksgiving a proper mourning period, I will admit that I got a little Christmassy the day after Turkey Day.

No, I did not break out my ugly sweater and Santa hat.

I did, however, set up the DVR to record Love Actually last night. I absolutely love that flick, and watch it every year. I record it whenever I notice it’s on, but I don’t watch it until the week of Christmas.

Like I said, it’s just too early to go Full Christmas. As much as I love watching world famous Zombie killer Rick Grimes try to pull off a British accent and woo Keira Knightley, such treats are best left until Santa is closer to beginning his journey.

In addition to recording that movie, I also might have sung along to Christmas Carols yesterday. In my defense, someone else was playing them, and they’re just so catchy that they’re impossible to ignore.

Besides, no one wants to be labeled a Scrooge or a Grinch in November. That title is a heavy burden to bear for over a month.

So this is why I’m fine with the rest of you getting all Christmassy, even though December is still a week away.

There’s no sense fighting the War on Christmas Expansion alone.

You might as well put on those ugly sweaters, crank the festive songs, and start bringing in all the yummy baked goods that make my stomach agree that the Christmas Season can begin any time.

12 Responses to Okay, You Can Be All Christmassy Now

It’s a funny thing, but there were major Black Friday sales over here in NZ, advertised as such and specifically following the US… except we don’t get Thanksgiving… We do get a longer Xmas season though, a fortnight of the Great New Zealand Summer Shut Down in which nothing happens and everybody eats far too much.

There I was, innocently entering a pharmacy to pick up a prescription Friday afternoon. As soon as the door closed behind me, I remembered what I remember this time every year: the Month of Not Liking Stores has begun. There was Christmas music playing. It will continue playing, nonstop, in every store I enter until the 25th. It wasn’t an old English tune, a Weihnachtsliede or a chanson de noel, it was a hip-hop rendition of “Santa Baby.” There are even radio stations I’ll have to avoid. I’m not against Christmas, not at all, but it is necessary to protect my sanity from the music, incessant and insistent, every time I enter a store.
No need to call me a grump old man, I already know that.

I agree with you. Down here, people begin setting Christmas lights as early as October; and I just cannot deal with that. For me, Christmas begins when it has traditionally begun, on December the 7th, when people in Latin America light candles to honor the Virgin. That night, Christmas begins to sparkle for me! Season’s greetings!